He joins Gov. John Kasich, Secretary of State Jon Husted in backing move legislative leaders oppose

Former Republican U.S. Sen. and Gov. George Voinovich has joined Gov. John Kasich and others in calling for a revamp of the process for drawing congressional districts in Ohio.

"Last year, Ohio's voters went to the polls and declared that they were tired of state legislative districts being gerrymandered with only politics in mind,” Voinovich said in a statement. “As we wait for the legislature to take up the issue, Ohio's voters can once again take the lead by demanding a fairer process for redistricting Ohio's 16 congressional districts.”

Kasich has said that he strongly supports redistricting reform, and that he will fight for changes whether he’s president or remains as governor. His comments came after Ohioans in November overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to change how legislative districts are drawn in an effort to make the process more transparent and bipartisan.

Republican legislative leaders chose not to include congressional redistricting in that proposal. Unless changed, those districts would continue to be drawn by the legislature, which can gerrymander the map to benefit the party that controls the chambers.

Unlike legislative redistricting, changing the congressional process would not require a constitutional amendment. A change in law would suffice. GOP legislative leaders have thus far resisted calls for such a change.

“I sincerely believe that one of the major problems confronting Congress is the fact that most districts are not balanced because of gerrymandering and therefore make it difficult for the member to compromise,” Voinovich said. “The simplest way to get Washington moving again is to produce balanced congressional districts that force our elected officials to listen to both sides and compromise.”